Spring Time...pleeease

It has been a fun week. We'll start with this funny picture:
Alexander and Kaleb don't take a nap very much anymore. One day I tried for an hour of screaming but the boys insisted they weren't tired, not at all. I put on a movie for them, 5 minutes later I look over to see Alexander sound asleep on the floor ... yup, not tired at all.

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to go to Utah with the boys just to see family.
I don't know why I find this so funny ... I was preparing snacks for the car. Planning on cutting up an apple and pear I pulled some out and turned around for a brief moment...

Our first stop was to invite myself to my Grandma's 91st birthday party. It was a fancy dinner put together by my aunt for my aunts and uncles. We were stuck in the basement but we still got a tablecloth, delicious food, fancy goblets and yummy lemonade.
The boys loves the spring weather. They spent the next two days outside barefoot.
At grandma's house; the fatest cat I've ever seen, the boys loved it.

Kaleb chased the cat under a deck. I had been watching them from a window as they ran around outside. I couldn't see Kaleb so I went out to look around. It took me awhile to hear some quiet whimpering and to realize it was coming from under the deck. I had to dig out some rocks and dirt to pull him out ... after I told him to hold on while I grabbed the camera (awww, mean mommy) I did get my poor boy out eventually, after a quick pants clean up he was all giggles and running around again getting as dirty as possible.

I sure hope our next place of residence has a yard. The boys were so happy being able to play outside.

This is my beautiful grandma. What an amazing woman and example she is. I hope I can be half as spry and spunky as she is at 91 years.

I'll share a brief story about her: We were able to visit last as a family, end of December. Right after we showed up another cousin, Daniel, and his wife showed up. Grandma always has unannounced visitors; she's very popular. We visited for a bit when the boys started rummaging in her cupboards. Grandma was very concerned that she wasn't prepared with lunch for all of us, She began to dig around the kitchen and declared, all was okay, she found crackers, cheese, and most importantly, pickles! She was very proud of her lunch feast and we all sat down to enjoy. Jake and I (especially him) aren't big fans of sweet pickles. But grandma insisted you couldn't eat the cracker without the pickle, it wasn't right! She was very persuasive and Jake dutifully ate the sweet pickles on his cracker.
I sure love my grandma!
We spent the next few days with Jake's family ... the boys practically lived outside. They especially loved having Tucker and Dixie to torment and chase.

Grandma took the boys to Cal Ranch to see the baby chickens, ducks, and bunnies. Much to their delight, the boys got to pet the bunnies (wish I had captured a picture)
Grandma also got the boys pin-wheels. It was so windy outside I was worried they would blow away.

Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Mc came down for dinner. I always love spending time with them. A brief story about grandpa. When I was dating Jake, I first met grandpa as he threw his arms around me in a tight embrace and welcomed me. There is so much love in this family.

This is baby Carolina. Jake's sister Hailey was visiting, one of the main reason I made the trek to Utah.

We tried to take a picture of all the grandkids. It was pretty funny. I don't know how professional photographers get good pictures of groups of kids.
The boys were sitting on one side of the couch generally ignoring the chaos around them, it was pretty funny how oblivious they seemed.

Carolina~Kaleb~Oakley~Jesse~Peyton~Alexander

The next couple days were spent with my family. When I'm in town I always organize a dinner with all my siblings. It's the only way I'll see them all.
I of course forgot to take pictures, except this one of my sister and her baby Penelope. A.k.a Penny - a.k.a - Peanut

We had fish tacos, and regular tacos for all those weird ones who don't like fish. Lots of yummy fruit, mango salsa with chips. A feast for all.
The next day I got to spend a few hours with two of my nieces Penny and Sabine. It was an adventure.

Sabine is quite the cheese-it-up ham when it comes to someone pulling out a camera.
The most fun was when Penny woke up screaming hungry from her nap, Sabine was dumping out cereal, and in walks Kaleb covered in poop. He had smeared it all over my parents room, into their bathroom, and unwound a roll of toilet paper. I decided to focus on scrubbing Kaleb off first, feed kids, then clean the room. Started working on scrubbing when Alexander walks in, cheeks bulging, green slime dripping down his chin. His mouth was stuffed with Tums. Grab him to rinse out his mouth. Finally got everything settled down and had to sit back and sigh. Ai-yi-yi Parenting is sure a fun adventure. Now I'm nervous about being outnumbered with three kids.

Menchie's always makes any day better. It wouldn't be a trip to grandma and grandpa's without stopping at their frozen yogurt store for a bowl of creamy goodness. Kaleb just wants a bowl of all the toppings. Alexander wants a bit of every flavor available. Yuuuummm

It was a great 5 days. Now it's back to the daily routine of speech appointment once a week for Kaleb, school for Jake - only two weeks left (crazy!!), laundry, dishes, menu planning, shopping, and cooking. But, now we get to add, get ready for baby girl - 10 weeks left! I brought home 6 garbage bags of clothes I bought, size N-3T. I need to find a good deal on lots of totes, not to mention a dresser.
I sure hope it really is spring time! Getting a few days of warm weather felt so nice. It would just be rude to snow again after that tempting teaser.